You know the feeling. The feeling you get when your new lipstick, the one that claims to be unmoveable, comes off on your coffee cup minutes after you put it on. Or your lipstick lasts all day, night and into the next morning, but the price you pay is desert-dry lips. New products claiming to last and last are popping up all over the place. But how do you know what's worth picking up? To help you choose a lipstick that does the job, our web editors put long-lasting lipsticks from three popular brands to the test.

Maybelline Forever Lipcolor, $9.99
Of the three lipsticks I sampled, Maybelline's Forever Lipcolor (Raisin, #230) was my favourite. It went on smoothly and did not dry my lips out the way the others did. I admit, it does perhaps have slightly less staying power than the others (it doesn't have a base coat and top coat, it's just your basic lipstick) but I prefer a product that doesn't leave my lips feeling chapped and dry. I found that this product stood up well to meals and lasted most of the day. I had to reapply the colour once throughout the course of the day; not bad, considering the other products required far more frequent applications of the moisturizing top coats.
Natalie Bahadur

Maybelline Forever Lipcolor, $9.99
This lipstick is the most comfortable to wear compared to the others I tried. It glides on smoothly and provides some moisture but the hydrating comfort comes at a cost: it kisses off your lips easier than the others. Also, the comfort is short-lived as my lips feel dry within an hour. The colour lasts just about all day but it looks dull and I have to apply a gloss overtop which further weakens the colour. I might opt for this product over the other two when I want to wear something that's less harsh on my lips.
Jen Melo

Maybelline Forever Lipcolor, $9.99
There is nothing overly impressive about this lipstick. Its colour staying power does last longer than the average lipstick, but not for the entire day. When I tested it I made it to lunchtime (about 5 hours). It did survive my morning coffee and a kiss – though watch out because this formula does kiss-off a little. Overall, not a bad product, but do be sure to have lip-gloss or balm on hand as it does dry out your lips.
Sarah Hatten

Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor, $12.95
This long-wear lipstick comes in a conveniently packaged double-ended wand, which means you only have to carry around one tube, as opposed to one with your lip colour and one with the moisturizing top coat. When I first applied Revlon's Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor (Perennial Plum, #260) one morning at 6 a.m., I loved it. It went on smoothly, although when it dried about a minute later, my lips felt excessively dry. However the moisturizing top coat felt deliciously smooth as it glided over the base coat. Unfortunately, I found that the lipstick did not stand up to the breakfast test (toast and peanut butter) and found that before noon the colour had started to flake off, leaving my lips dry and splotchy with uneven bits of colour clinging to my lips.
Natalie Bahadur

Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor, $12.95
I've tried several long-wearing lipsticks and this one is plagued by the same irritant as others: It's drying. The colour coat goes on smoothly and clings to your lips in seconds. The glossy topcoat helps to moisturize but you still feel the edges of your lips puckering as the first coat clings. The shine and colour is nice and although it's dry, it's not too uncomfortable, especially if you reapply the topcoat often. I wouldn't choose any long-wearing lipstick as an everyday cosmetic because I find them too drying but for special occasions, when I don't want to reapply, I'd sacrifice a bit of comfort for the long-wearing benefits. This lipcolor claims 8 hours of wear and I didn't find any colour rimming my drinking glass after I took a sip. I applied it at 11 a.m. but it didn't hold up to the dressing on the salad I had at lunch (oil-based products tend to remove long-wearing lipsticks.) By 5 p.m. much of the color was still there, but the shade looked uneven with little bits of the product littering my lips.
Jen Melo

Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lipcolor, $12.95
This product definitely has long-lasting colour power. I applied the product in the morning before leaving for the office and when I returned home at the end of the day there was definitely still a hint of colour on my lips, which I found very impressive. That said, this product is incredibly dry and you need to apply the glossy topcoat constantly throughout the day otherwise your lips appear chapped. My conclusion is that while this lipstick does have great colour durability, it is pretty high maintenance since you need to apply gloss as much, maybe even more frequently, than you may reapply your usual lip colour.
Sarah Hatten

Covergirl Outlast Smoothwear, $12.99
When Covergirl first launched the Outlast product, it was so drying I couldn't wear it. But the new version (with more conditioning moisture for your lips) is a vast improvement. The colour base coat that I used (Cabernet Satin, #855) gave brilliant colour and the moisturizing top coat added super-lustrous shine. Although I found that the base colour did last almost the entire day, I had to reapply the moisturizing top coat frequently as my lips dried out throughout the day; which begs the question: What's the difference between this product and a regular lipstick if both require frequent touch-ups throughout the day? Overall, I loved the colour but wasn't crazy about the fact that I had to keep reapplying the moisturizing topcoat.
Natalie Bahadur

Covergirl Outlast Smoothwear, $12.99
This formula is an improvement over CoverGirl's first attempt at the Outlast product. The topcoat provides much more moisture than the previous version and it relieves that skin-puckering feeling left after applying the color coat. TIP: Your tendency may be to apply lots of the color coat (just like a regular gloss) but less is definitely more. Too much of the color coat gives a caked-on appearance and a lighter application leaves a prettier, more comfortable, and more natural look. This lip colour doesn't kiss off and it stays on all day - it's actually difficult to remove. Vaseline seems to be the best long-wearing lip-color remover but, especially with darker shades, you really have to rub to get the color off your lips. Like similar long-wearing lip colors, I have to reapply the moisturizing topcoat several times a day -- more times than I would've reapplied a regular, moisturizing lipstick. I'd opt for this product over the other two because it has more staying power but I'd reapply the topcoat often.
Jen Melo

Covergirl Outlast Smoothwear, $12.99
If I had to choose a favourite of the three lipcolours I tried then this product would be it. The colour definitely lasts longer than the average lipstick and it's not as dry as the other two products I tested, that is, assuming you constantly apply the conditioning moisture coat throughout the day. Overall, this lipstick is a good product, though it doesn't save you any re-application time due to the need for the moisture coat.
Sarah Hatten